Crown Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,240 reviews

Not Perfect, But Not The Voyage From Hell, Either

Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Crown Princess
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bikechic
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Dec 2012
Cabin: Balcony

I love long sea days, so I looked forward to trying a TransAtlantric crossing for the first time. The last half of this 20-day trip is mostly at sea and I loved it. Big hint: if you are sailing from Europe to the US in December, book a port balcony cabin if you want the sun. We booked Baja 708 on the port side and soaked in a week of beautiful sun every day. The weather on all crossings varies, of course, but it is also true that the starboard side was shady every day, so keep that in mind. We had two rough sea days out of 20, and I thought that was pretty good, considering this was December on the Atlantic.

The Norovirus broke out in Venice, when we boarded, and this meant that the buffet meals were time-consuming. Passengers could literally not touch anything. You were given one plate when you entered the buffet line and a staff person placed anything you wanted on your plate. A salad could take five minutes to have someone else construct, one item at a time. The drink stations were the biggest problem, as 3,200 people all wanted their coffee differently every morning and no wait staff- no matter how cheerful- can handle this for 20 days in a row. This all sounds petty but it is amazing how annoying this became after a few days. We were overjoyed when we were finally allowed (on day 18) to make our own salads and coffee.

The virus is serious, of course, but we didnt get it, no one we met on the ship had it and there didnt appear to be many people missing from the diningrooms or activities, so it is hard to evaluate the true impact the illness had on this trip.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BE

Baja 708: Next to the aft elevators, down the hall from the self-serve laundry. Quiet, though, and easy to get midship. Also, only a few flights up for either the buffet or the diningroom. If you like aft cabins, this one is excellent.

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